New battery or need to fix/reset the battery charge status?

My client said his four years old MacBook Pro's old battery doesn't last
long these days -- about 20 minutes and then shuts off. No warnings or
anything. Even the status shows about 25% battery power left.

Does this old MBP need to get a new battery or need to reset/fix the
charge status? If it just needs a reset/fix, then what's the
best/correct way to do that? Also, Mac OS X 10.5.8 has all the updates.
If it needs a new battery, then what's the best place to get a new one
in Los Angeles/L.A. or Orange County/O.C. area? From a local Apple store?

Thank you in advance.
--
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3 Finale Part II)
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I forgot to mention that right before the last power loss, MBP's
wireless lost its password to the wireless router! That might be
related. I had to enter that in and then a few minutes later, MBP shut
off. Sheesh.

On 5/29/2012 10:13 PM PT, Ant typed:
> Hi!
>
> My client said his four years old MacBook Pro's old battery doesn't last
> long these days -- about 20 minutes and then shuts off. No warnings or
> anything. Even the status shows about 25% battery power left.
>
> Does this old MBP need to get a new battery or need to reset/fix the
> charge status? If it just needs a reset/fix, then what's the
> best/correct way to do that? Also, Mac OS X 10.5.8 has all the updates.
> If it needs a new battery, then what's the best place to get a new one
> in Los Angeles/L.A. or Orange County/O.C. area? From a local Apple store?
>
> Thank you in advance.
--
"Ever watch ants just crawling around? They walk in that single straight
line, a long, a long, long mile of ants. Sometimes they will walk over
and pick up their dead friends and carry those around. I'm pretty sure
it's because they can get in the carpool lane and pass up that line."
--Ellen DeGeneres
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In article <>, Ant
<> wrote:
> My client said his four years old MacBook Pro's old battery doesn't last
> long these days -- about 20 minutes and then shuts off. No warnings or
> anything. Even the status shows about 25% battery power left.
>
> Does this old MBP need to get a new battery or need to reset/fix the
> charge status? If it just needs a reset/fix, then what's the
> best/correct way to do that? Also, Mac OS X 10.5.8 has all the updates.
> If it needs a new battery, then what's the best place to get a new one
> in Los Angeles/L.A. or Orange County/O.C. area? From a local Apple store?

sudden shutdown means one or more of the internal battery cells has
failed, dropping the voltage of the entire battery pack below than what
can run the computer, therefore it shuts off.

replace the battery.

you *might* be able to do a full discharge/recharge to weasel a little
extra life out of it, but it's not going to be much better.

if you option-click the battery menu extra, it will display the
battery's condition and it will probably say service battery or
something to that effect.

as for replacements, there are third party batteries, but personally,
i'd get only apple label ones. shop around for the best deal.

you also might have success finding one on ebay that's in reasonable
condition if you don't want to pay full price for a battery for a 4
year old computer, however, you might also get stuck with another
failing one.

On 5/29/2012 10:50 PM PT, nospam typed:
> sudden shutdown means one or more of the internal battery cells has
> failed, dropping the voltage of the entire battery pack below than what
> can run the computer, therefore it shuts off.

Interesting!

> replace the battery.
>
> you *might* be able to do a full discharge/recharge to weasel a little
> extra life out of it, but it's not going to be much better.
>
> if you option-click the battery menu extra, it will display the
> battery's condition and it will probably say service battery or
> something to that effect.

We did not see anything odd/unusual. It said 84% (we were charging
earlier after the incident) after pulling the power AC to check,
different battery power options, and status options, but no "extra"
text. We did not see any "service battery" or anything like that.

> as for replacements, there are third party batteries, but personally,
> i'd get only apple label ones. shop around for the best deal.

So, would Fry's Electronics, Best Buy, Costco, Apple stores, Radio
Shack, etc. carry these MBP batteries?
>
> you also might have success finding one on ebay that's in reasonable
> condition if you don't want to pay full price for a battery for a 4
> year old computer, however, you might also get stuck with another
> failing one.

How much does a new one usually cost?
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In article <>, Ant
<> wrote:
> > replace the battery.
> >
> > you *might* be able to do a full discharge/recharge to weasel a little
> > extra life out of it, but it's not going to be much better.
> >
> > if you option-click the battery menu extra, it will display the
> > battery's condition and it will probably say service battery or
> > something to that effect.
>
> We did not see anything odd/unusual. It said 84% (we were charging
> earlier after the incident) after pulling the power AC to check,
> different battery power options, and status options, but no "extra"
> text. We did not see any "service battery" or anything like that.

if you option-click it, there's an extra line about the battery
condition. mine says condition: normal. yours probably won't.

you can also run system profiler and see what it says in the power
section.
> > as for replacements, there are third party batteries, but personally,
> > i'd get only apple label ones. shop around for the best deal.
>
> So, would Fry's Electronics, Best Buy, Costco, Apple stores, Radio
> Shack, etc. carry these MBP batteries?

apple stores obviously will, as will best buy. radio shack won't. i
have no idea about costco or fry's.
> > you also might have success finding one on ebay that's in reasonable
> > condition if you don't want to pay full price for a battery for a 4
> > year old computer, however, you might also get stuck with another
> > failing one.
>
> How much does a new one usually cost?

In article <>,
Ant <> wrote:
> I forgot to mention that right before the last power loss, MBP's
> wireless lost its password to the wireless router! That might be
> related. I had to enter that in and then a few minutes later, MBP shut
> off. Sheesh.

Funny you should mention this! In the last couple of days, I have been
logging in and out quite a bit. But the mains AC is connected all the
time to my MB. My AirPort, the built-in wireless connection in the MB,
for the first time in two years did not know the password! It just
suddenly lost wireless connection and when I opened up the Airport
menu to right of screen, it showed no password and asked me for it!

I would have to fish it out keychain but it does not matter, I just
plugged in the ethernet cable. But very curious. The battery is
showing as 97% full and am not having any power problems. The MB still
works fine on battery. You are making me wonder if something about the
battery (it getting long in the tooth, 2.4 yrs), combined with some
sys thing is causing this?

On Wednesday, May 30, 2012 7:37:47 AM UTC+1, nospam wrote:
> In article <>, Ant
> <> wrote:
>
> > > replace the battery.
> > >
> > > you *might* be able to do a full discharge/recharge to weasel a little
> > > extra life out of it, but it's not going to be much better.
> > >
> > > if you option-click the battery menu extra, it will display the
> > > battery's condition and it will probably say service battery or
> > > something to that effect.
> >
> > We did not see anything odd/unusual. It said 84% (we were charging
> > earlier after the incident) after pulling the power AC to check,
> > different battery power options, and status options, but no "extra"
> > text. We did not see any "service battery" or anything like that.
>
> if you option-click it, there's an extra line about the battery
> condition. mine says condition: normal. yours probably won't.
>
> you can also run system profiler and see what it says in the power
> section.
>
> > > as for replacements, there are third party batteries, but personally,
> > > i'd get only apple label ones. shop around for the best deal.
> >
> > So, would Fry's Electronics, Best Buy, Costco, Apple stores, Radio
> > Shack, etc. carry these MBP batteries?
>
> apple stores obviously will, as will best buy. radio shack won't. i
> have no idea about costco or fry's.
>
> > > you also might have success finding one on ebay that's in reasonable
> > > condition if you don't want to pay full price for a battery for a 4
> > > year old computer, however, you might also get stuck with another
> > > failing one.
> >
> > How much does a new one usually cost?
>
> $129

The battery on my aged 2009 MacBook Pro started doing that, it would die suddenly after 20 to 30 minutes.Eventually, literally overnight, the battery swelled up and was distorting the MacBook chassis. I was able to unclip thebattery and put it aside, but I guessing you don't have that option, and will need to ensure the old battery is out of the machine before it has a chace to do irreversible damage.

On 5/30/2012 12:16 AM PT, dorayme typed:
> Funny you should mention this! In the last couple of days, I have been
> logging in and out quite a bit. But the mains AC is connected all the
> time to my MB. My AirPort, the built-in wireless connection in the MB,
> for the first time in two years did not know the password! It just
> suddenly lost wireless connection and when I opened up the Airport
> menu to right of screen, it showed no password and asked me for it!
>
> I would have to fish it out keychain but it does not matter, I just
> plugged in the ethernet cable. But very curious. The battery is
> showing as 97% full and am not having any power problems. The MB still
> works fine on battery. You are making me wonder if something about the
> battery (it getting long in the tooth, 2.4 yrs), combined with some
> sys thing is causing this?

Weird. Yours lost/forgot with AC connected? My client's was on battery
when it happened. It only happened once so far!
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On 5/30/2012 2:43 AM PT, SRMoll typed:
>>>> if you option-click the battery menu extra, it will display the
>>>> battery's condition and it will probably say service battery or
>>>> something to that effect.
>>>
>>> We did not see anything odd/unusual. It said 84% (we were charging
>>> earlier after the incident) after pulling the power AC to check,
>>> different battery power options, and status options, but no "extra"
>>> text. We did not see any "service battery" or anything like that.
>>
>> if you option-click it, there's an extra line about the battery
>> condition. mine says condition: normal. yours probably won't.

Is that the one where it has options to pick best performance, normal,
best performance, custom, etc.? Then, they looked fine to me. No
odd/weird errors/texts.

>> you can also run system profiler and see what it says in the power
>> section.

Here is what it says when running on battery right after seeing 97% charge:

>>>> as for replacements, there are third party batteries, but personally,
>>>> i'd get only apple label ones. shop around for the best deal.
>>>
>>> So, would Fry's Electronics, Best Buy, Costco, Apple stores, Radio
>>> Shack, etc. carry these MBP batteries?
>>
>> apple stores obviously will, as will best buy. radio shack won't. i
>> have no idea about costco or fry's.

OK. Do I have to find specific models or something for this old MBP from
2008?

>>>> you also might have success finding one on ebay that's in reasonable
>>>> condition if you don't want to pay full price for a battery for a 4
>>>> year old computer, however, you might also get stuck with another
>>>> failing one.
>>>
>>> How much does a new one usually cost?
>>
>> $129
>
> The battery on my aged 2009 MacBook Pro started doing that, it would die suddenly after 20 to 30 minutes.Eventually, literally overnight, the battery swelled up and was distorting the MacBook chassis. I was able to unclip the battery and put it aside, but I guessing you don't have that option, and will need to ensure the old battery is out of the machine before it has a chace to do irreversible damage.

Wow, expensive. Yikes for the physical damage!! I will tell my client to
remove it then! That's scary! I hope it is easy to remove it.

Good thing we made a big external USB HDD backup (Time Machine and
manually) over the long Memorial Day weekend.
--
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In article <290520122337476948%>,
nospam <> wrote:
> In article <>, Ant
> <> wrote:
>
> > > replace the battery.
> > >
> > > you *might* be able to do a full discharge/recharge to weasel a little
> > > extra life out of it, but it's not going to be much better.
> > >
> > > if you option-click the battery menu extra, it will display the
> > > battery's condition and it will probably say service battery or
> > > something to that effect.
> >
> > We did not see anything odd/unusual. It said 84% (we were charging
> > earlier after the incident) after pulling the power AC to check,
> > different battery power options, and status options, but no "extra"
> > text. We did not see any "service battery" or anything like that.
>
> if you option-click it, there's an extra line about the battery
> condition. mine says condition: normal. yours probably won't.
>
> you can also run system profiler and see what it says in the power
> section.

And there's a third-party utility Battery Health Monitor that may
display some useful info.

What's the official web site to get it?
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"When I was five years old, I saw an insect that had been eaten by ants
and of which nothing remained except the shell. Through the holes in its
anatomy one could see the sky. Every time I wish to attain purity I look
at the sky through flesh." --Salvadore Dali
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\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
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In article <>, Ant
<> wrote:
> >> if you option-click it, there's an extra line about the battery
> >> condition. mine says condition: normal. yours probably won't.
>
> Is that the one where it has options to pick best performance, normal,
> best performance, custom, etc.? Then, they looked fine to me. No
> odd/weird errors/texts.

it's the menu extra that just shows battery level, but apparently the
condition item was added in 10.6 and i think you said 10.5.8 so that
explains why you aren't seeing anything.

79 cycles for a 4 year old battery?? he obviously doesn't use it on
battery power all that often, so why bother replacing it?
> I see that "Check battery" text. I guess that means to change it?

it means there's a problem, but at least it's better than 'service
battery'.
> OK. Do I have to find specific models or something for this old MBP from
> 2008?

there are different ones for the various size macbooks.
> >>> How much does a new one usually cost?
> >>
> >> $129
> >
> > The battery on my aged 2009 MacBook Pro started doing that, it would die
> > suddenly after 20 to 30 minutes.Eventually, literally overnight, the
> > battery swelled up and was distorting the MacBook chassis. I was able to
> > unclip the battery and put it aside, but I guessing you don't have that
> > option, and will need to ensure the old battery is out of the machine
> > before it has a chace to do irreversible damage.
>
> Wow, expensive. Yikes for the physical damage!! I will tell my client to
> remove it then! That's scary! I hope it is easy to remove it.

it's very easy to remove (unlike the more recent macbooks). he can keep
using the battery, just keep an eye on it if it starts to swell, which
it probably won't. that only happens if there's some sort of internal
damage.
> Good thing we made a big external USB HDD backup (Time Machine and
> manually) over the long Memorial Day weekend.

backups are always a good thing but the battery issue is unrelated to
hard drive crashes.

Since it looks like my client's MBP will need a new battery. Looking athttp://store.apple.com/us/search?find=macbook pro battery ... show two
15" batteries. Which one is which for this 2008's MacBook Pro model? Is
it aluminum? Also, what's up with the low ratings and negative reviews? Are there any top rated reviewed batteries to get if these are not
good? $129 is expensive.

In comp.sys.mac.portables Ant <> wrote:
> Hi!
> My client said his four years old MacBook Pro's old battery doesn't last
> long these days -- about 20 minutes and then shuts off. No warnings or
> anything. Even the status shows about 25% battery power left.
> Does this old MBP need to get a new battery or need to reset/fix the
> charge status? If it just needs a reset/fix, then what's the
> best/correct way to do that? Also, Mac OS X 10.5.8 has all the updates.
> If it needs a new battery, then what's the best place to get a new one
> in Los Angeles/L.A. or Orange County/O.C. area? From a local Apple store?
> Thank you in advance.

In article <>, Ant
<> wrote:
> Since it looks like my client's MBP will need a new battery. Looking at
> http://store.apple.com/us/search?find=macbook pro battery ... show two
> 15" batteries. Which one is which for this 2008's MacBook Pro model? Is
> it aluminum? Also, what's up with the low ratings and negative reviews?
> Are there any top rated reviewed batteries to get if these are not
> good? $129 is expensive.

the smaller battery is for the first 15" unibody, released in late
2008. i don't know why they refer to it as 15" aluminum since all
macbook pros are aluminum.

The mid 2009 and more recent models have an integrated battery, which
Apple regards as not being user-replaceable. The official means of
replacing these is to take it to an authorised Apple service agent, and
they will probably charge you US$129 for the battery itself, plus a
labour charge.

If you aren't sure which 2008 model your client has, go into Apple menu,
About This Mac, click More Info.

In Mac OS X 10.6.8 and earlier, this runs System Profiler. The "Model
Identifier" is shown on the first page. It is "MacBookPro5,1" for the
late 2008 15" model (unibody). The first digit will be 4 or less for
earlier models.

In Mac OS X 10.7 and later, System Profiler was renamed to System
Information, and has an initial window which gives a general overview,
including the model name. You can click the System Report button to open
the same detailed information that System Profiler gave, and can see the
Model Identifier there.
> Is it aluminum?

All MacBook Pros are aluminium.
> Also, what's up with the low ratings and negative reviews?

Most of the negative reviews seem to be complaints about having to
replace the original battery with a new one sooner than they expected.

That doesn't match my personal experience, but I expect a lot of
variation comes from how the battery gets exercised.

My typical usage pattern during the week is to have the computer plugged
in most of the day while I'm at work, and running from battery most of
the time while I'm using it at home, sometimes plugging it in at home if
necessary (particularly during the weekends).

My previous MacBook Pro (mid 2007 model, original body) had its original
battery for the three years in which I owned it. It got well over 300
cycles and was still getting excellent run time. As far as I know, the
new owner hasn't had to replace the battery yet (two years later).

Battery life could be reduced by running the computer from mains power
for weeks or months at a time, without running it on battery at all.

Battery life could also be reduced by using it heavily on battery and
not allowing enough recharge time, or letting the battery discharge to
very low levels without being recharged for a while.
> Are there any top rated reviewed batteries to get if these are not
> good? $129 is expensive.

For models with removable batteries you could try Newer Technology (sold
via Other World Computing): http://www.macsales.com. I got one for my
PowerBook G4 back in 2004, which lasted longer than the original Apple
battery for that computer, but I don't have any more recent experience.

Personally I'd bite the bullet and stick with the official Apple
batteries these days.

Thanks! http://i.imgur.com/319Mw.png for the screen shot/capture after
the battery was charged earlier and powering on from being off since
this morning. What do you think of it?
--
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in the pants?! Ants in the Pants?!! ..." --Eric Cartman in South Park's
Damien Episode (Season 1; Episode 8)
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On 5/30/2012 1:14 PM PT, nospam typed:
>> Since it looks like my client's MBP will need a new battery. Looking at
>> http://store.apple.com/us/search?find=macbook pro battery ... show two
>> 15" batteries. Which one is which for this 2008's MacBook Pro model? Is
>> it aluminum? Also, what's up with the low ratings and negative reviews?
>> Are there any top rated reviewed batteries to get if these are not
>> good? $129 is expensive.
>
> the smaller battery is for the first 15" unibody, released in late
> 2008. i don't know why they refer to it as 15" aluminum since all
> macbook pros are aluminum.
>
> all prior macbook pros use the larger battery.

OK so the one my client has the larger one when I checked under his MBP.
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On 5/30/2012 5:39 PM PT, David Empson typed:
>> Since it looks like my client's MBP will need a new battery. Looking at
>> http://store.apple.com/us/search?find=macbook pro battery ... show two
>> 15" batteries. Which one is which for this 2008's MacBook Pro model?
>
> http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA348LL/A is for older (original body)
> MacBook Pro models (2006 to early 2008).
>
> http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB772LL/A is for the aluminium unibody
> models which have a removable battery (late 2008).
>
> The mid 2009 and more recent models have an integrated battery, which
> Apple regards as not being user-replaceable. The official means of
> replacing these is to take it to an authorised Apple service agent, and
> they will probably charge you US$129 for the battery itself, plus a
> labour charge.
>
>
> If you aren't sure which 2008 model your client has, go into Apple menu,
> About This Mac, click More Info.
>
> In Mac OS X 10.6.8 and earlier, this runs System Profiler. The "Model
> Identifier" is shown on the first page. It is "MacBookPro5,1" for the
> late 2008 15" model (unibody). The first digit will be 4 or less for
> earlier models.
>
> In Mac OS X 10.7 and later, System Profiler was renamed to System
> Information, and has an initial window which gives a general overview,
> including the model name. You can click the System Report button to open
> the same detailed information that System Profiler gave, and can see the
> Model Identifier there.

I looked under my client's MBP and it was the big size so he has the
older one. Wow, Apple doesn't want to change hardware parts in their
newer models? That's dumb.

>> Is it aluminum?
>
> All MacBook Pros are aluminium.
>
>> Also, what's up with the low ratings and negative reviews?
>
> Most of the negative reviews seem to be complaints about having to
> replace the original battery with a new one sooner than they expected.
>
> That doesn't match my personal experience, but I expect a lot of
> variation comes from how the battery gets exercised.
>
> My typical usage pattern during the week is to have the computer plugged
> in most of the day while I'm at work, and running from battery most of
> the time while I'm using it at home, sometimes plugging it in at home if
> necessary (particularly during the weekends).
>
> My previous MacBook Pro (mid 2007 model, original body) had its original
> battery for the three years in which I owned it. It got well over 300
> cycles and was still getting excellent run time. As far as I know, the
> new owner hasn't had to replace the battery yet (two years later).
>
> Battery life could be reduced by running the computer from mains power
> for weeks or months at a time, without running it on battery at all.
>
> Battery life could also be reduced by using it heavily on battery and
> not allowing enough recharge time, or letting the battery discharge to
> very low levels without being recharged for a while.

Interesting.

>> Are there any top rated reviewed batteries to get if these are not
>> good? $129 is expensive.
>
> For models with removable batteries you could try Newer Technology (sold
> via Other World Computing): http://www.macsales.com. I got one for my
> PowerBook G4 back in 2004, which lasted longer than the original Apple
> battery for that computer, but I don't have any more recent experience.
>
> Personally I'd bite the bullet and stick with the official Apple
> batteries these days.

OK. What is its warranty like for these replaced Apple batteries?
--
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aggression, territorial conquest, and genocidal annihilation of
neighboring colonies whenever possible. If ants had nuclear weapons,
they would probably end the world in a week." --Journey to the Ants,
page 59. Bert Holldobler & Edward O. Wilson
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( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 5/30/2012 8:32 AM PT, nospam typed:
>>>> if you option-click it, there's an extra line about the battery
>>>> condition. mine says condition: normal. yours probably won't.
>>
>> Is that the one where it has options to pick best performance, normal,
>> custom, etc.? Then, they looked fine to me. No odd/weird errors/texts.
>
> it's the menu extra that just shows battery level, but apparently the
> condition item was added in 10.6 and i think you said 10.5.8 so that
> explains why you aren't seeing anything.
>
> <http://www.macosxtips.co.uk/index_files/240210-battery-menu.png>
>
>> Health Information:
>> Cycle count: 79
>> Condition: Check Battery
>
> this is where it would say 'normal' if it wasn't having a problem.

Ah thanks.

> 79 cycles for a 4 year old battery?? he obviously doesn't use it on
> battery power all that often, so why bother replacing it?

He does once in a while. Very rare.

>> I see that "Check battery" text. I guess that means to change it?
>
> it means there's a problem, but at least it's better than 'service
> battery'.

So what will happen with that "Check battery" text? Just less battery
power? No explosions, physuical inflations, etc.?

>> OK. Do I have to find specific models or something for this old MBP from
>> 2008?
>
> there are different ones for the various size macbooks.

OK.

>>>>> How much does a new one usually cost?
>>>>
>>>> $129
>>>
>>> The battery on my aged 2009 MacBook Pro started doing that, it would die
>>> suddenly after 20 to 30 minutes.Eventually, literally overnight, the
>>> battery swelled up and was distorting the MacBook chassis. I was able to
>>> unclip the battery and put it aside, but I guessing you don't have that
>>> option, and will need to ensure the old battery is out of the machine
>>> before it has a chace to do irreversible damage.
>>
>> Wow, expensive. Yikes for the physical damage!! I will tell my client to
>> remove it then! That's scary! I hope it is easy to remove it.
>
> it's very easy to remove (unlike the more recent macbooks). he can keep
> using the battery, just keep an eye on it if it starts to swell, which
> it probably won't. that only happens if there's some sort of internal
> damage.

OK. Hopefully, no explosions.

>> Good thing we made a big external USB HDD backup (Time Machine and
>> manually) over the long Memorial Day weekend.
>
> backups are always a good thing but the battery issue is unrelated to
> hard drive crashes.

Well, you mentioned the physical battery swelling! That is scary!
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